Indonesia flags risk of forest fires that triggered 2015 haze
Indonesia flags risk of forest fires that triggered 2015 haze
25 July 2017
published by https://www.bloomberg.com
Indonesia – Indonesia sees the risk of forest and land fires increasing until the peak of dry season in September, reigniting concerns of a repeat of 2015 haze that enveloped much of Southeast Asia.
Satellite images showed 170 hotspots across the country, including 35 in Aceh province on Sumatra island, 44 in East Nusa Tenggara and 21 in West Kalimantan, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Affected areas also include other parts of Sumatra, Kalimantan on Borneo, Java and Sulawesi, the agency known as BNPB said on Twitter.
Stinging smoke from the illegal burning to clear land for palm oil and paper plantations blanketed Singapore, parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand for over a month in 2015. Besides prompting school closures and disrupting sea and air travel in the region, the smog also forced some in Indonesia to flee their homes. The haze also cost Indonesia, Southeast Asias biggest economy, $16.1 billion of losses, according to World Bank estimates.
The event in 2015 prompted several palm oil producers to increase efforts to prevent forest fires. Sime Darby Bhd. and IOI Corp Bhd. joined Fire Free Alliance to support Indonesian government efforts to prevent land burning. The program covers more than 200 villages, measuring at least 1.5 million hectares of land in various parts of Indonesia, and encourages citizens to participate in community-based fire prevention initiatives.
The disaster agency has stepped up efforts to fight the fire in western Aceh, caused by land clearing on peatlands and mineral soil by local residents, it said. Efforts to put out the fires have been hampered by limited road access, water sources and fire-fighting facility, it said.
Separately, President Joko Widodo asked ministers and governors to enforce a moratorium on new permits to clear forest and peatlands for another two years, the cabinet secretariat said in a statement Tuesday. The ban issued in 2011 has now been extended twice as environment groups and consumers including Unilever and Nestle SA push for production of palm oil thats certified as sustainable.
Portugal is to reduce the number of eucalyptus groves after the highly flammable plant was blamed for last month’s deadly forest fires.
Parliament voted for the measure Wednesday as part of ongoing forest law reforms that started in April, before the blaze in the central Pedrogao Grande region that killed 64 people and injured more than 250.
Prime Minister Antonio Costa last week urged measures to prevent a repeat catastrophe, while also highlighting the challenges of forest redevelopment.
“We can’t refuse to curb the growth of eucalyptus because we’re worried about its impact on the paper industry,” he said last week, referring to a sector that represents 4.9 percent of Portuguese exports.
Eucalyptus is Portugal’s most widespread forest plant, according to the country’s Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests.
But it is cited as a cause offorest fires that lay waste annually to around 100,000 hectares of vegetation.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-07-eucalyptus-deadly-portugal-forest.html#jCpPortugal is to reduce the number of eucalyptus groves after the highly flammable plant was blamed for last month’s deadly forest fires.
Parliament voted for the measure Wednesday as part of ongoing forest law reforms that started in April, before the blaze in the central Pedrogao Grande region that killed 64 people and injured more than 250.
Prime Minister Antonio Costa last week urged measures to prevent a repeat catastrophe, while also highlighting the challenges of forest redevelopment.
“We can’t refuse to curb the growth of eucalyptus because we’re worried about its impact on the paper industry,” he said last week, referring to a sector that represents 4.9 percent of Portuguese exports.
Eucalyptus is Portugal’s most widespread forest plant, according to the country’s Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests.
But it is cited as a cause offorest fires that lay waste annually to around 100,000 hectares of vegetation.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-07-eucalyptus-deadly-portugal-forest.html#jCpPortugal is to reduce the number of eucalyptus groves after the highly flammable plant was blamed for last month’s deadly forest fires.
Parliament voted for the measure Wednesday as part of ongoing forest law reforms that started in April, before the blaze in the central Pedrogao Grande region that killed 64 people and injured more than 250.
Prime Minister Antonio Costa last week urged measures to prevent a repeat catastrophe, while also highlighting the challenges of forest redevelopment.
“We can’t refuse to curb the growth of eucalyptus because we’re worried about its impact on the paper industry,” he said last week, referring to a sector that represents 4.9 percent of Portuguese exports.
Eucalyptus is Portugal’s most widespread forest plant, according to the country’s Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests.
But it is cited as a cause offorest fires that lay waste annually to around 100,000 hectares of vegetation.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-07-eucalyptus-deadly-portugal-forest.html#jCpPortugal is to reduce the number of eucalyptus groves after the highly flammable plant was blamed for last month’s deadly forest fires.
Parliament voted for the measure Wednesday as part of ongoing forest law reforms that started in April, before the blaze in the central Pedrogao Grande region that killed 64 people and injured more than 250.
Prime Minister Antonio Costa last week urged measures to prevent a repeat catastrophe, while also highlighting the challenges of forest redevelopment.
“We can’t refuse to curb the growth of eucalyptus because we’re worried about its impact on the paper industry,” he said last week, referring to a sector that represents 4.9 percent of Portuguese exports.
Eucalyptus is Portugal’s most widespread forest plant, according to the country’s Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests.
But it is cited as a cause offorest fires that lay waste annually to around 100,000 hectares of vegetation.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-07-eucalyptus-deadly-portugal-forest.html#jCp
